The faculty office.
After the first language examination, the invigilating teachers all gathered in this office in the comprehensive building.
Li Xueping was organizing the collected answer sheets with a few teachers, chatting and laughing.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind them.
"Teacher Li!"
Several people turned to look at the newcomer.
"Teacher Liu, is there something you need?"
"Teacher Li, you're not being fair!"
Liu Xuan chided with a smile.
"Teacher Liu, what do you mean by that?"
Li Xueping was a bit confused.
"When did your class produce another top student in Chinese? I haven't heard you mention anyone!"
"A top student in Chinese? Who?"
Liu Xuan rolled her eyes. "Still pretending to be clueless, a boy named Qin Tian, isn't he in your class?"
"You're talking about who? Qin Tian?"
Li Xueping looked shocked.
"Yes!"
"We do have a student named that, but he's not a top student. He was at the bottom of the class in the last exam, and his Chinese score wasn't even passing."
"Ah?"
Now it was Liu Xuan's turn to be dumbfounded.
"No, no, no, that's impossible. How could that student not pass Chinese? Teacher Li, are you mistaken?"
"No, Teacher Liu, you're talking about Qin Tian, right?"
"Yes, unless you have another student in your class also named Qin Tian?"
Li Xueping: "..."
"Teacher Liu, why don't you explain what's going on first?"
A male teacher beside them suggested with amusement.
Liu Xuan nodded in realization and then recounted Qin Tian's situation in the examination room.
After listening, Li Xueping and the others showed expressions of shock.
"Teacher Liu, you mean he submitted his paper more than forty minutes early? And his answers were good?"
Li Xueping confirmed with a serious expression.
"Yes, I've checked his answer sheet several times. If I'm not mistaken, it's definitely a paper worth over 140 points."
Liu Xuan replied earnestly.
Li Xueping fell silent for a moment, recalling Qin Tian's confident bet with Wu Xin and what he had said in the hallway:
"Old Li, actually, I was just pretending before. I wanted to interact with them as a slacker, but all I got was distance. So... I've decided not to pretend anymore."
At that time, hearing this, he thought the kid had a very sophisticated way of bragging.
If he could use this ability in his studies, then getting into a good university should be no problem.
Now, hearing Teacher Liu's astonishing news, Li Xueping was beginning to have some doubts.
Could it be...
That kid had actually succeeded in his act?
"Teacher Liu, why are you walking so fast!"
At this moment, a male teacher who had been invigilating with Liu Xuan came rushing over, panting.
Liu Xuan glanced at him with a faint expression. "Teacher Qian, you're walking too slowly. Your physical condition... you need to exercise more!"
"Uh..."
Teacher Qian's expression stiffened.
The other teachers couldn't help but turn their heads to steal a laugh.
Li Xueping, however, was not in the mood. His focus was entirely on Qin Tian.
"Teacher Qian, it's good you're here. Teacher Liu was just saying..."
"There is such a student. He finished very early and didn't even check his paper. I hadn't managed to stop him before Teacher Liu let him go."
Teacher Qian nodded.
Liu Xuan said irritably, "Teacher Qian, are you blaming me? He had already finished his paper, and he did very well. Why shouldn't he be allowed to submit it and leave?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."
Teacher Qian waved his hands in a panic.
"Teacher Qian, what do you think of his performance?"
Li Xueping asked again.
"I teach math and don't know much about Chinese, but your student's casual attitude towards the exam..."
Teacher Qian recalled the times he had angered Liu Xuan and shifted some of his dissatisfaction and resentment onto the student who submitted his paper early.
That's right, if he hadn't submitted his paper early, he wouldn't have said the wrong thing.
He only spoke half the sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Liu Xuan was utterly speechless and had already condemned him in her mind.
In the future, if it wasn't necessary, she wouldn't even bother talking to him.
His emotional intelligence was appallingly low.
"If you don't understand, then don't speak, alright?"
Liu Xuan glared at him with a blank expression and then turned back to Li Xueping.
"Teacher Li, don't you trust me? If this answer sheet wasn't sealed, I'd want to take it out and show it to you right now. I dare to bet with you that his Chinese score this time will definitely be above 140."
Hearing her confident tone, Li Xueping still believed her.
He had always recognized Liu Xuan's Chinese proficiency and knew she wasn't the type to speak without certainty.
"That brat, he really knows how to play!"
Li Xueping said with a wry smile.
The group of teachers looked at each other.
..................................................
Qin Tian was unaware that the teachers in the faculty office were intensely discussing him.
At this moment, he was racking his brain, thinking about how to make amends.
On the way back to the classroom, Xia Nuannuan had been ignoring him.
As they walked into the classroom, they saw Xu Ying standing there, happily talking to her two girlfriends.
This time, she didn't dare to sit in Qin Tian's seat again. Instead, she stood in the aisle next to Cui Ying's desk.
Seeing them approach, Xu Ying put on a disdainful sneer.
She deliberately raised her voice and mocked, "Qin Tian, Cui Ying told me you submitted your paper almost fifty minutes early. What, you couldn't write the essay and just gave up?"
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Everyone's gaze turned to Qin Tian with expressions of disbelief.
Submitting a paper fifty minutes early was too exaggerated.
Even the best Chinese student in the class couldn't finish that quickly.
Everyone's first reaction was similar to Xu Ying's, thinking Qin Tian had simply given up.
Only Xia Nuannuan didn't think so.
"Saying this now, you might end up slapping yourself when the results come out."
Xia Nuannuan gave a reminder and walked in to sit at her own seat.
"You—"
Xu Ying's eyes widened, and she glared furiously.
She never expected that Xia Nuannuan, who had been so timid just a few days ago, would now dare to speak to her like this.
The other classmates in the class were also surprised.
"Is that Xia Nuannuan? Why does she seem to have changed so much!"
"Huh? Why does she look thinner, and she seems to have become prettier."
"She has indeed become much prettier. It seems the running before the evening self-study worked for them."
"And she's more confident and poised. Also, have you noticed, she's quite fierce!"
"Uh... she really is. So enviable! Mine is completely flat."
"It feels like after succeeding in losing weight, she might really have a chance to transform into a great beauty!"
"..."
At this moment, as everyone's attention focused on Xia Nuannuan, they began to notice the changes in her.
Qin Tian also smiled with relief. After sitting down, he looked at Xia Nuannuan and praised, "Not bad, you've improved. You can even talk back now."
Xia Nuannuan blushed with embarrassment, snorted, and turned her head away.
"Still sulking?"
"No."
"Is this what 'no' looks like?"
"It is no."
Seeing them talking and laughing, Xu Ying, who had been completely ignored, turned ashen, her teeth almost grinding to dust.